Armory Marek Schiavona i4
Jul 10, 2017 21:14:57 GMT
Post by Afoo on Jul 10, 2017 21:14:57 GMT
Preamble
As many of you know, my primary expertise is in military swords and sabres. However, I have always had a thing for the Schiavona - I like the elegant hilt and its workman (or woman)-like appearance. Sure, military rapiers exist, but they are usually associated with the educated officers and nobility, whereas the schiavona belongs in the hands of slavic mercenaries, men-at-arms and people who work for a living....at least in my mind.
The problem with schiavonas is that they are just so hard to find. MRL recently brought back their interpretation, but I am not a huge fan. The guard looks kinda strange and the sheet metal much too thin. The Armour Class offering is good, but the hilt doesn't look correct. It may be an accurate representation of an early proto-schiavona predecessor, but its simplified. Del-tin and Darkwood make some nice ones, but way too expensive for my tastes.
That leaves me with two options - Wulflund or Armory Marek. Both offerings fall in the 340 Euro range including the scabbard, and both look reasonably nice without breaking the bank. Uhlan got two Schiavonas from Wulflund and they stand up (for the most part) to his inspection, However, Wulflund automatically charges 20% VAT and, while I am except from paying it since I am an international buyer, they were unwilling to deduct it from my bill unless I used a private courier for shipping. Since I did not feel like paying their VAT in addition to my own local Canadian taxes, I dropped them from consideration and went instead to Armory Marek. Total cost was 400 Euro including shipping (but without the 20% VAT, so yay), which works out to $450 US or 590 CAD. For some context, my 1854 French cuirassier sword, one of my most expensive antiques, cost me $650 CAD, so this is not a cheap item.
That said, I am currently on track to submit my doctoral thesis at the end of this summer, which is as good a reason as one can find to splurge a bit. In Finland, PhD graduates actually receive a sword to represent their duty to defend the truth, so there is some historical precedent through which I can justify this to myself :P
I ordered the schiavona in May. Pavel Marek said that it would be ready to ship at the end of June. Technically I have yet to finish my degree but, given Uhlan 's experience with Wulflund and their constant delays along with my own from Armour Class, I went ahead and placed the order, fully expecting it to be delayed until such time as I had earned my Doctor status
To my surprise, they finished it right on schedule and it arrived a few days ago. I had some issues with the sharpening (or lack thereof), but those have been resolved to my satisfaction.
As I mentioned earlier, I have no other schiavonas to compare this example to. However, I do have a Hanwei Broadsword and a modified Windlass Munich sword, both of which share a similar niche, being complex-hilted, cut and thrust broadswords with extensive hand protection. As such, I will use both of these as references throughout this review
Top: Franken-Munich. Middle: Schiavona. Bottom: Hanwei broadsword
Handling
The Marek Schiavona was built for sparing. As such, it has a 4mm blade throughout, with a rather thick edge. This no doubt adds quite a lot of extra metal, but the overall weight is manageable, coming in lighter than either the Hanwei or the Windlass despite having the longer blade. The blade does feel heavier than the Hanwei due to the lack of taper, but only if you compare them side-by side. That said, I find the Hanwei freakishly light in the hand for what it is, so this is a reflection of the excellent handling traits of the Hanwei rather than any deficiencies on the part of the Schiavona. In isolation it feels exactly how you would expect a broadsword to feel, which is acceptable to me. The blade is stiff and does not wiggle around like some of the other Windlass blades, despite sharing the same 4mm stock dimensions.
The handling is miles ahead of the Munich sword. The Munich may have better taper (same distal taper, but more profile taper). However, weight is weight, and the extra 10% on the Munich shows. The Munich would make a good cavalry sword I suspect due to its mass, but on foot it is easily bested by the other two.
I do not know the historical weights and balance of actual schiavonas. However, the weight and PoB of my example matches what Ulahn reports for the Wulflund equivalent. Both are ~0.06 lbb heavier than the Del-Tin offering with similar PoB (within 1 inch), suggesting that what you get from Armory Marek is broadly similar to the offerings from other manufacturers.
I should point out that the edge on the Marek Schiavona is 4mm all round, whcih makes it MUCH safer for sparing than the Hanwei, which tapers to 2mm at the tip. Having been poked with the Hanwei by bfoo2 , I can testify that this is not a pleasant experience. While I do not look forwards to being poked by the schiavona, I suspect it will be more comfortable than the Hanwei
Hilt and Grips
To me, a Schiavona is defined by its hilt - its what makes it stand out in a collection and gives it its character. Doesn't matter how good the blade is; if the hilt is garbage, then the whole thing is garbage. Likewise, I can forgive a mediocre blade is the hilt makes it worthwhile. I am glad to report that, in this case the hilt is fantastic.
On the practical side, the hilt assembly of the schiavona represents an ideal compromise between the rapier and the basket-hilt; it gives much more protection than the rapier. Its more enclosed than the rapier as well, which gives you a greater sense of confidence, particularly in close-in fighting one may expect to encounter as a Dalmatian mercenary. However, it is less confined than the basket hilt, which makes it easier to do moulinettes or high (1', 2') parries. It also retains the long grip of the rapier, and has both a thumb ring, and a ricasso you can actually use, which gives you even more options as to how you want to employ the sword. Thus, while the Hanwei is lighter and better balanced, I find the Schiavona more fun to handle overall. The hilt fits my hands nicely without bumping against my knuckles, but those with larger hands may struggle. It would also be tough to fit my hand inside with anything thicker than my leather gloves, so keep that in mind if you plan to use this with heavy gauntlets
Schiavona hilt - good protection and maneuverability.
Now here we get to the fun part - how the hilt looks. As you can hopefully tell from the above pictures, it looks pretty spectacular. Uhlan mentions in his post that the Wulflund schiavonas have a handmade feel to them. The Armory Marek ones share that positive aspect. They are made of thick (4mm) plate rather than the cookie cutter stuff from CS and Windlass. They are also clearly individual parts rather than a laser cut-out template that someone bent into shape, like one gets from BKS or other manufacturers. There are spots of black and other imperfections which add character. The pieces are well beveled and look to be made with care. Small variations and details prevent it from being too plain or homogeneous. It has character. In this regard I would even place it above the Darkwood offering, which is well built but looks more sterile
Darkwood Schiavona for comparison
Unlike the Wulflund examples reviewed bu Uhlan, this one has what I believe to be signs of modern welding. However, they are hidden within the guard and do not really stand out unless you go looking for them. I am also not an expert of metal work, so I could also be wrong. Either way, it does not detract from the overall feel.
Signs of electric spot-welding?
One thing I do not like about this model (or any of Pavel Marke's schiavonas for that matter) is how the quillon is made. The steel plate is 90 degree from what I have seen in just about any other sword (Del Tin Schiavona shown below for comparison). Its a minor niggle though in comparison to the rest of the hilt. This structural feature is also evident in the pictures provided by Armory Marek - I just chose to go ahead and order it anyway for the various reasons listed in the preamble so its not exactly fair to criticize it now. Functionally it does not get in the way of getting intimate with the ricasso, which was another potential concern I had.
Quillon from the Del Tin schiavona for comparison
The pommel is a simplified version of the cat's head pommel; it has the correct shape but lacks some of the flourishes found on the Del Tin (above) or even the Wulflund. However, it is functional and I do like that it matches with the rest of the hilt (ie: its made of steel not brass). Not sure whether the linker connecting the knuckle-bow to the pommel is accurate, but it looks okay either way. The peen looks a bit messy and shows no sign of any attempt to clean it up. Seems like a bit of an oversight for something at this price point, but it is secure which I suppose is the most important thing.
The Blade
The blade itself is mediocre, though that is about what I had expected given previous reviews. They are 4mm thick with no taper, but a step up from Windlass. They are actually very similar to what Uhlan got from Wulflund, so I will let him do the talking:
"They are quite thin. I get 4mm! All over. No taper. Like you now, I went ,,what the f$!k'' too when I unpacked them.
For starters, the temper and the flex are excellent. They use some steel called CSN 14260 with a hardness of 52 - 54 HRC and whatever that steel is, it is very good. They even guarantee for braking. These are re enactment blades, stage battle blades. For what they are, they are worth every penny, but are as far away from originals as is possible."
It is worth noting that the Del Tin tapers from 4.8 mm to 2.5 mm, so its not like your extra 200 dollars will get you a significantly thicker blade
The blade itself is well done for what they are - in addition to the central fuller there are some tasteful accents in the form of engraved lines and markings. The name ArmoryMarek is also on the spine, which is a nice touch. In the pictures below you can see how thin the blade is, which makes it a minor miracle they were able to get their name on it
The fuller itself is crisp and well-defined, unlike the Windlass blades.
In my example, the blade was marred by some black marks - like someone touched it without gloves and forgot to wipe it down. I can live with these markings, but it does seem like a stupid mistake to have them there in the first place. Not going to bother chasing them down for it, especially since I already raised a fuss about the sword not being sharpened. I will probably use this for sparing after all, and that is apparently what Pavel intended for these swords anyway so its not like they will remain pristine for long. However, if you are getting one for collecting, then best to be aware and either prepare to clean it up yourself, or make it very clear in your order that they should be spotless.
The Sheath:
I paid an extra 60 euro to get a scabbard, since I have a family and as a general policy do not want to leave exposed blades lying around. The sheath itself is.....comically floppy
That said, it is well made and does the job. It is made of real leather, and the stitch-work is quite nice. It does NOT have a metal chape however, so the tip is quite vulnerable to damage. It DOES come with a baldric as well to wear, which I forgot to photograph, but its quite serviceable.
Conclusions
This is really a mixed bag. The schiavona by itself without the sheath or shipping is 260 Euro, which puts it right on par with the Wulflund offering, and just over half the price of of Darkwood or Del Tin. In that context, both the Wulflund and the Marek look like a bargain.
The Marek has some stupid issues - there was the issue of the lack of blade sharpening, and the black marks on the blade - both of them are not deal-breakers in my eyes, but for someone else they could be big problems - especially since the cost of shipping and customs makes any returns for those of us outside Europe unfeasible. Armory Marek also takes payment only by cash or bank transfer, which makes it a bit of a pain to handle payment, unlike Wulflund or any other modern company.
On the positive note, the sword itself is a quality product and has character - generally on par with the Wulflund and miles ahead of the MRL (which, I should point out, costs 240 Euro, albeit with scabbard included). Armory Marek also has a huge variety (over 10 IIRC) of designs, unlike Wulflund which as of this writing only has one pattern of schiavona available. They are also very timely with their production and delivery, with wait times of a few weeks rather than months, and a timeline estimate which is unnervingly accurate.
Overall I am quite pleased with this sword despite the hiccups, and believe that Marek offers a viable alternative to Wulflund when it comes to mid-range Schiavona and rapier replicas which lie between the MRL offering and the works of Del Tin or Darkwood. However, I would not have gotten it had it not been a special occasion, especially in the context of my collection in which an 1822 LC carries the same door-to-door price.
~
As always, full resolution pictures here
As many of you know, my primary expertise is in military swords and sabres. However, I have always had a thing for the Schiavona - I like the elegant hilt and its workman (or woman)-like appearance. Sure, military rapiers exist, but they are usually associated with the educated officers and nobility, whereas the schiavona belongs in the hands of slavic mercenaries, men-at-arms and people who work for a living....at least in my mind.
The problem with schiavonas is that they are just so hard to find. MRL recently brought back their interpretation, but I am not a huge fan. The guard looks kinda strange and the sheet metal much too thin. The Armour Class offering is good, but the hilt doesn't look correct. It may be an accurate representation of an early proto-schiavona predecessor, but its simplified. Del-tin and Darkwood make some nice ones, but way too expensive for my tastes.
That leaves me with two options - Wulflund or Armory Marek. Both offerings fall in the 340 Euro range including the scabbard, and both look reasonably nice without breaking the bank. Uhlan got two Schiavonas from Wulflund and they stand up (for the most part) to his inspection, However, Wulflund automatically charges 20% VAT and, while I am except from paying it since I am an international buyer, they were unwilling to deduct it from my bill unless I used a private courier for shipping. Since I did not feel like paying their VAT in addition to my own local Canadian taxes, I dropped them from consideration and went instead to Armory Marek. Total cost was 400 Euro including shipping (but without the 20% VAT, so yay), which works out to $450 US or 590 CAD. For some context, my 1854 French cuirassier sword, one of my most expensive antiques, cost me $650 CAD, so this is not a cheap item.
That said, I am currently on track to submit my doctoral thesis at the end of this summer, which is as good a reason as one can find to splurge a bit. In Finland, PhD graduates actually receive a sword to represent their duty to defend the truth, so there is some historical precedent through which I can justify this to myself :P
I ordered the schiavona in May. Pavel Marek said that it would be ready to ship at the end of June. Technically I have yet to finish my degree but, given Uhlan 's experience with Wulflund and their constant delays along with my own from Armour Class, I went ahead and placed the order, fully expecting it to be delayed until such time as I had earned my Doctor status
To my surprise, they finished it right on schedule and it arrived a few days ago. I had some issues with the sharpening (or lack thereof), but those have been resolved to my satisfaction.
As I mentioned earlier, I have no other schiavonas to compare this example to. However, I do have a Hanwei Broadsword and a modified Windlass Munich sword, both of which share a similar niche, being complex-hilted, cut and thrust broadswords with extensive hand protection. As such, I will use both of these as references throughout this review
Top: Franken-Munich. Middle: Schiavona. Bottom: Hanwei broadsword
Handling
The Marek Schiavona was built for sparing. As such, it has a 4mm blade throughout, with a rather thick edge. This no doubt adds quite a lot of extra metal, but the overall weight is manageable, coming in lighter than either the Hanwei or the Windlass despite having the longer blade. The blade does feel heavier than the Hanwei due to the lack of taper, but only if you compare them side-by side. That said, I find the Hanwei freakishly light in the hand for what it is, so this is a reflection of the excellent handling traits of the Hanwei rather than any deficiencies on the part of the Schiavona. In isolation it feels exactly how you would expect a broadsword to feel, which is acceptable to me. The blade is stiff and does not wiggle around like some of the other Windlass blades, despite sharing the same 4mm stock dimensions.
The handling is miles ahead of the Munich sword. The Munich may have better taper (same distal taper, but more profile taper). However, weight is weight, and the extra 10% on the Munich shows. The Munich would make a good cavalry sword I suspect due to its mass, but on foot it is easily bested by the other two.
I do not know the historical weights and balance of actual schiavonas. However, the weight and PoB of my example matches what Ulahn reports for the Wulflund equivalent. Both are ~0.06 lbb heavier than the Del-Tin offering with similar PoB (within 1 inch), suggesting that what you get from Armory Marek is broadly similar to the offerings from other manufacturers.
I should point out that the edge on the Marek Schiavona is 4mm all round, whcih makes it MUCH safer for sparing than the Hanwei, which tapers to 2mm at the tip. Having been poked with the Hanwei by bfoo2 , I can testify that this is not a pleasant experience. While I do not look forwards to being poked by the schiavona, I suspect it will be more comfortable than the Hanwei
Hilt and Grips
To me, a Schiavona is defined by its hilt - its what makes it stand out in a collection and gives it its character. Doesn't matter how good the blade is; if the hilt is garbage, then the whole thing is garbage. Likewise, I can forgive a mediocre blade is the hilt makes it worthwhile. I am glad to report that, in this case the hilt is fantastic.
On the practical side, the hilt assembly of the schiavona represents an ideal compromise between the rapier and the basket-hilt; it gives much more protection than the rapier. Its more enclosed than the rapier as well, which gives you a greater sense of confidence, particularly in close-in fighting one may expect to encounter as a Dalmatian mercenary. However, it is less confined than the basket hilt, which makes it easier to do moulinettes or high (1', 2') parries. It also retains the long grip of the rapier, and has both a thumb ring, and a ricasso you can actually use, which gives you even more options as to how you want to employ the sword. Thus, while the Hanwei is lighter and better balanced, I find the Schiavona more fun to handle overall. The hilt fits my hands nicely without bumping against my knuckles, but those with larger hands may struggle. It would also be tough to fit my hand inside with anything thicker than my leather gloves, so keep that in mind if you plan to use this with heavy gauntlets
Schiavona hilt - good protection and maneuverability.
Now here we get to the fun part - how the hilt looks. As you can hopefully tell from the above pictures, it looks pretty spectacular. Uhlan mentions in his post that the Wulflund schiavonas have a handmade feel to them. The Armory Marek ones share that positive aspect. They are made of thick (4mm) plate rather than the cookie cutter stuff from CS and Windlass. They are also clearly individual parts rather than a laser cut-out template that someone bent into shape, like one gets from BKS or other manufacturers. There are spots of black and other imperfections which add character. The pieces are well beveled and look to be made with care. Small variations and details prevent it from being too plain or homogeneous. It has character. In this regard I would even place it above the Darkwood offering, which is well built but looks more sterile
Darkwood Schiavona for comparison
Unlike the Wulflund examples reviewed bu Uhlan, this one has what I believe to be signs of modern welding. However, they are hidden within the guard and do not really stand out unless you go looking for them. I am also not an expert of metal work, so I could also be wrong. Either way, it does not detract from the overall feel.
Signs of electric spot-welding?
One thing I do not like about this model (or any of Pavel Marke's schiavonas for that matter) is how the quillon is made. The steel plate is 90 degree from what I have seen in just about any other sword (Del Tin Schiavona shown below for comparison). Its a minor niggle though in comparison to the rest of the hilt. This structural feature is also evident in the pictures provided by Armory Marek - I just chose to go ahead and order it anyway for the various reasons listed in the preamble so its not exactly fair to criticize it now. Functionally it does not get in the way of getting intimate with the ricasso, which was another potential concern I had.
Quillon from the Del Tin schiavona for comparison
The pommel is a simplified version of the cat's head pommel; it has the correct shape but lacks some of the flourishes found on the Del Tin (above) or even the Wulflund. However, it is functional and I do like that it matches with the rest of the hilt (ie: its made of steel not brass). Not sure whether the linker connecting the knuckle-bow to the pommel is accurate, but it looks okay either way. The peen looks a bit messy and shows no sign of any attempt to clean it up. Seems like a bit of an oversight for something at this price point, but it is secure which I suppose is the most important thing.
The Blade
The blade itself is mediocre, though that is about what I had expected given previous reviews. They are 4mm thick with no taper, but a step up from Windlass. They are actually very similar to what Uhlan got from Wulflund, so I will let him do the talking:
"They are quite thin. I get 4mm! All over. No taper. Like you now, I went ,,what the f$!k'' too when I unpacked them.
For starters, the temper and the flex are excellent. They use some steel called CSN 14260 with a hardness of 52 - 54 HRC and whatever that steel is, it is very good. They even guarantee for braking. These are re enactment blades, stage battle blades. For what they are, they are worth every penny, but are as far away from originals as is possible."
It is worth noting that the Del Tin tapers from 4.8 mm to 2.5 mm, so its not like your extra 200 dollars will get you a significantly thicker blade
The blade itself is well done for what they are - in addition to the central fuller there are some tasteful accents in the form of engraved lines and markings. The name ArmoryMarek is also on the spine, which is a nice touch. In the pictures below you can see how thin the blade is, which makes it a minor miracle they were able to get their name on it
The fuller itself is crisp and well-defined, unlike the Windlass blades.
In my example, the blade was marred by some black marks - like someone touched it without gloves and forgot to wipe it down. I can live with these markings, but it does seem like a stupid mistake to have them there in the first place. Not going to bother chasing them down for it, especially since I already raised a fuss about the sword not being sharpened. I will probably use this for sparing after all, and that is apparently what Pavel intended for these swords anyway so its not like they will remain pristine for long. However, if you are getting one for collecting, then best to be aware and either prepare to clean it up yourself, or make it very clear in your order that they should be spotless.
The Sheath:
I paid an extra 60 euro to get a scabbard, since I have a family and as a general policy do not want to leave exposed blades lying around. The sheath itself is.....comically floppy
That said, it is well made and does the job. It is made of real leather, and the stitch-work is quite nice. It does NOT have a metal chape however, so the tip is quite vulnerable to damage. It DOES come with a baldric as well to wear, which I forgot to photograph, but its quite serviceable.
Conclusions
This is really a mixed bag. The schiavona by itself without the sheath or shipping is 260 Euro, which puts it right on par with the Wulflund offering, and just over half the price of of Darkwood or Del Tin. In that context, both the Wulflund and the Marek look like a bargain.
The Marek has some stupid issues - there was the issue of the lack of blade sharpening, and the black marks on the blade - both of them are not deal-breakers in my eyes, but for someone else they could be big problems - especially since the cost of shipping and customs makes any returns for those of us outside Europe unfeasible. Armory Marek also takes payment only by cash or bank transfer, which makes it a bit of a pain to handle payment, unlike Wulflund or any other modern company.
On the positive note, the sword itself is a quality product and has character - generally on par with the Wulflund and miles ahead of the MRL (which, I should point out, costs 240 Euro, albeit with scabbard included). Armory Marek also has a huge variety (over 10 IIRC) of designs, unlike Wulflund which as of this writing only has one pattern of schiavona available. They are also very timely with their production and delivery, with wait times of a few weeks rather than months, and a timeline estimate which is unnervingly accurate.
Overall I am quite pleased with this sword despite the hiccups, and believe that Marek offers a viable alternative to Wulflund when it comes to mid-range Schiavona and rapier replicas which lie between the MRL offering and the works of Del Tin or Darkwood. However, I would not have gotten it had it not been a special occasion, especially in the context of my collection in which an 1822 LC carries the same door-to-door price.
~
As always, full resolution pictures here